Brad Pitt wanted help with investments in various projects.
At least that’s what two Spanish women thought – but the projects didn’t exist, and those pretending to be the actors were actually frauds.
In total, the women were defrauded of the equivalent of more than SEK 3.5 million.
Five people have been arrested in Spain, suspected of defrauding two women of 325,000 euros, AFP reports. The people pretended to be the actor Brad Pitt – and studied the intended victims carefully.
“In order to get hold of the victims, the cybercriminals had studied their social networks and made a psychological profile of them, thus discovering that both women were two vulnerable people who lacked affection and were in a state of depression,” the police said in a statement , according to AFP.
“Promised a romantic relationship and a future together”
The suspected fraudsters are said to have contacted the women and offered them to invest in various projects – which did not exist.
“They also used instant messaging platforms to exchange messages and emails with the women until they reached a point where they believed they were chatting via WhatsApp with Brad Pitt himself, who promised them a romantic relationship and a future together,” police said.
Arrested after raids
The suspected fraudsters were arrested after police raided their homes. There, several mobile phones, bank cards, two computers and a diary with “the phrases the fraudsters used to deceive their victims” were seized.
The police managed to recover 85,000 euros of the money the women had been cheated of.